(Anti) sway bar bushing.
snipped-for-privacy@earthl>My wife and I just purchased a used 2001 Outback and things are
running smoothly. However, whenever we go over a slight bump, we hear
>a 'rattling' noise. After examining the hatch and the spare, I
>checked underneath the car and noticed something odd. There is a rod
>which goes from one side of the car to the other (width) and passes
>through two braces (rear two wheels). I noticed that where the rod
>passes through one brace, there is some sort of padding to prevent the
>bar from moving. The other brace does not have the padding so
>whenever the car goes over a bump, the brace smacks the rod making the
>'rattling' noise. I checked underneath our 2001 Forester and noticed
>it had the same rod and same braces (both braces were padded).
>
>So, does anyone have any idea what I'm looking at? What the padding
>is called so I can order it or replace it? Does anyone know why the
>padding would be gone? I'm thinking perhaps some work was done to the
>vehicle and they forgot to replace the padding.
>
>Thanks in advance....